The big challenges of this century – dealing with climate change, keeping the world economy successful, raising skill levels, managing migration, overcoming disease, defending ourselves and others from threats, and helping to mend failed states – will all require international action. Indeed, I think the defining political issue of our age will be the choice between isolationism and protectionism on the one hand, and multilateralism and shaping globalisation in our interests on the other.

Britain must be committed to multilateralism and making sure its institutions work effectively. And we can only do this if Europe is at the heart of our approach – providing leadership, influencing others – and playing its full part in the world.

Greater co-operations between member states will also be important in improving our competitiveness, as Europe and Britain deal with a globalisation that is gathering pace.

I agree with David Miliband that the EU should be as much an environmental union as a European one. But I also want the EU to take a lead in international development – helping countries to bring clean water to their citizens, getting children into school, investing in infrastructure to help economic development and changing the world trade rules so that countries can earn their way out of poverty.

And I want to see Europe continuing to support peace and security, including by funding regional efforts, like those of the African Union, to deal with conflict.

To achieve all of this the EU needs to change. Within the EU, we need improvements to internal decision making procedures to agree better priorities quicker. The EU needs to project its policies and its values more effectively in the wider world and link better to other multilateral institutions. I am committed to a strong Britain in a strong Europe, and to making these changes happen.

Today, Britain's relationship with the European Union dominates fewer and fewer headlines than in the days before Labour came to power. To some, this is symptomatic of the decreasing relevance of the EU to the lives of ordinary citizens. To me, it is a sign that we are getting something right.

No longer are scare stories about hyper-regulation from Brussels a daily occurrence; no longer do caricatured disputes with French or German governments creep regularly into the diary columns; no longer are debates about EU withdrawal given serious credence.

And this is as it should be. The less we hear of EU power struggles, the less we have to tolerate scaremongering over straight bananas, the more we can be confident that the EU is doing its job: steadily working to find common, constructive solutions to challenges which don't recognise borders.

Few believe we could tackle carbon emissions single-handedly; nor organised crime, immigration or terrorism. After the UK's successful Presidency of the EU, we have never been better placed to positively influence Europe's response to these issues, in the Commission, in the Parliament, or in the Council. And as these concerns rise to the heart of the domestic political agenda, so the opportunity bring Europe closer to its citizens arises. The climate is ripe to highlight - and celebrate - the EU's role in tackling the problems important to each of us.

 Of course, the EU must become more efficient. But with Cameron's continued moves towards isolationism, only Labour who are capable of pushing for this. As we enter the next phase in our history, we must have the confidence to embrace this as a political dividing line. It is time to say with pride that “Europe is working, don't let the Tories wreck it again.”

Nobody needs to persuade me of the need for Britain to play an active role in the EU. I was lucky enough to work in Downing Street between 1997 and 2000 and work on EU legislation like the Working Time Directive. I saw first hand how European social legislation could address people's everyday concerns.

But in recent years, we have allowed the debate to get bogged down into simplistic positions demanding “more Europe” or “less Europe” or even get dragged back in to a sterile debate over whether we should be in the EU at all. I am more interested in what political decisions are being made, and how.

Too often recently the right has succeeded in using EU institutions to push neo-liberal proposals like the Bolkestein Directive that accelerate the race to the bottom of the labour market, when a social Europe should be there to prevent exactly that. For me, that is the real battle to be fought over the EU.

But it is also the case that the structure of the EU institutions undermines confidence in the ideals of a social Europe. There are obvious first steps, such as ending the nomadic existence of the European Parliament by basing it permanently in Brussels and, as Richard Corbett has rightly suggested, having the European Council meet in Strasbourg. But deeper reform is also needed.

Too often national governments use the Council of Ministers as a way of making unpopular decisions away from the scrutiny of either the European Parliament or their own national parliaments, then blaming those decisions on “Europe”. By preventing that, a dose of real democratic reform would strengthen, not undermine, the EU.

That brings me on to the fact that our own government is too often an obstacle to progress. The UK helped block the new rules bringing openness to the Council meetings. Now the government is impeding efforts to protect vulnerable Agency Workers. That needs to change.

In the end, this is not an institutional debate about grand schemes or the onward march of history. It is apolitical fight for progressive politics at a European level. We have to make the case for a social Europe that reflects our ideals and delivers real change for ordinary working people.

I have always believed passionately in Europe, and was proud to be Europe Minister representing Britain in negotiations on the European Constitution. My commitment to Europe stems from a simple fact: the battle for progressive politics on the domestic front can no longer be won within national borders alone. In our increasingly interdependent world, common problems and interests can only be met by taking collective action.

Take tackling climate change; the greatest threat facing humanity today. Europe has led the way with the development of emissions trading. This has been critical, especially when many other wealthy nations have been unwilling to assume their fair share of responsibility.

There's also no clearer illustration of the Right's inability to understand the dynamic of interdependency than Cameron's claim to be green despite his hostility towards Europe.

But as supporters of strong international institutions, we must also lead the movement for their reform. In recent years, a common EU approach has played an increasingly important international role, for instance in efforts to tackle Iran's nuclear weapons programme.

But elsewhere, EU influence has been less than it should have been. As a result, not just the EU, but Member States too have been less able to influence international events. As a leading EU power, Britain has a responsibility to show leadership in the development of a stronger common foreign policy.

Nor can the momentum on EU enlargement be lost. I strongly support Turkey's membership of the EU, not simply because of the huge strategic and economic advantages, but also because of the potential of the EU to extend and entrench democracy, human rights and freedom. Through Turkey, we can open new doors between Europe and Asia – a genuinely historic opportunity.

Europe matters. It matters to our economy, our environment, it matters to employees and it matters for our cooperation with other countries.

The big issues which affect every UK family in the 21st century can only be tackled by countries working together, in Europe and around the world. Climate change, energy, security and dealing with international terrorism can only be effectively dealt with through international organisations like the European Union.

The challenge today for all of us in Labour's team – MPs, local councillors as well as MEPs, to ensure that we make the EU relevant to the everyday lives of its citizens. That means showing how EU decisions affect them in all the things that they do - the higher food standards for their breakfast cereal, the company they work for that sells successfully across the world's largest single market of 460 million consumers, the lower priced phone calls they make to book their summer holiday or their weekend away, and the clean beach they lie on.

And it is only by working across Europe that we can tackle international crime, like the menace of human trafficking of women for sexual exploitation. It is not just the European parliament and Commission that matters but also organisations like Eurojust and Europol.

The Tories try to pretend that they can protect communities, the environment and people in work by being semi-detached and by repealing the Social Chapter. Labour is internationalist and knows that we can achieve more in partnership with other countries than we can achieve alone.

That means welcoming new countries joining the EU, extending democracy and the rule of law; enlarging the single market and ensuring that more people share in the peace and prosperity that has resulted.

As Trade & Industry Secretary during our recent Presidency barely a day passed when I was not engaged in EU policy development. As Secretary of State for Education & Skills I am equally determined to promote the European dimension in education – both in respect of the Bologna process and more generally explore how the Commission and Parliament can be more active, particularly around the skills agenda and Higher Education.

David Cameron's arms must be tiring from holding down the lid on the boiling cauldron that is Tory party antipathy to Europe. Occasionally the odd (in most cases very odd) senior Tory springs forth and says something so negative about Europe that it reminds us that despite the superficial image make over, the Tories have not really changed their spots. The reality is that unless they align with a rag bag of deranged right wingers from Eastern Europe, their party will soon return to the days of internecine warfare over the EU.

I have always been strongly pro-European, supporting a social Europe in the trade union movement when the whole concept of European Union was derided. I see equal merit in the advancement of the Lisbon agenda for growth and innovation and maintaining the social dimension which is vital to the protection of EU Citizens.

But I am not blinkered to the difficulties we face. If nothing else the French and Dutch referenda proved there was no clear idea in the minds of the people about the direction the EU is taking. We must do much more to convince our Citizens of the benefits of the EU and its central role in tackling the bigger political challenges we face such as climate change, energy supply, international security and fiscal probity.

On the single currency, future consideration about the principle for entry shouldn't preclude a more immediate dialogue about the potential benefits of membership.

For my part I will continue to advance the education and skills agenda within EU institutions, seeking to build alliances with our Socialist Group colleagues, employers and trade union groups. I am also interested in how we might deal with the real challenges arising from the French and Dutch results. Richard Corbett has some good ideas about how we might move forward to ensure the decision-making process does not grind to a halt.

Equally I am keen to maintain close contact with the EPLP to build upon Geoff Hoon's excellent work in revitalising the link between Ministers and our MEPs to our mutual benefit.